Overrated Actors

[modelista]

it's not that i find angelina jolie or george clooney bad at what they do... it's more like they DO get type cast sooo much in the same type of roles that you feel like they are playing the same character over and over again

 

[Lela London]

Blake Lively

I find her super charming, but really forced as an actress. I'm always aware it is her on screen, if that makes sense.

 

[sobriquet87]

I'm not aiming this at anyone here I just want to get this said. There's a difference between someone who just can't act and someone who hasn't diversified with the roles they've had. George Clooney, for example, has two types of characters he usually plays. The smooth, slick Danny Ocean type charmer or the very serious Syriana type of role. He bounces between those two types of character but it doesn't mean he's a bad actor, he does them both really well. The same goes for someone like Angelina. She's very type cast in many ways. But you pull apart what she's doing on screen, separate it from the film, even something as naff as The Tourist, and she's damn good at what she does. Even if that is being a female action star. Blake Lively on the other hand just can't deliver a line!

Completely agree!! I think another person who fits into that category is Amy Adams.
She plays the same character over and over again (basically), but she does it very well.
I would never consider her a bad/overrated actress, which is why I removed her from my list.

And this is also why I disagree with James Franco being overrated. I think he's very good at his craft.

 

[newprincesita]

Johnny Depp has lost a lot since he started being Capt Sparrow. He´s kinda "cartoonish" these days and The Tourist was simply painful. He is too much "himself" in every latest movie, the stringy hair....he has become somehow predictable.

George Clooney is not a GREAT actor, but he has gotten a LOT better with the years and you can see he tries to follow the difficult path and he avoids doing the same movie over and over again. He could, and he would make tons of money, but he insists in doing different roles. He deserves praise for that.

Angelina is too much Angelina sometimes. Her face and lips, and pout sometimes makes you difficult to "forget" the actress and believe the character. Wanted and Salt are 100% pure "Pouty,skinny, know it all,badass Angie", if she keeps on doing this kind of movies, it´s going to be difficult to believe when she plays a meatier role. It´s like you´re always expecting her to pull out a gun, jump out the window or to pout....

 

[MyNameIs]

^Agree with everything you said there newprincesita.

 

[modelista]

a few others i forgot to mention:
demi lavato
miley cyrus
the duff sisters
anyone named jennifer (aniston, lopez, & garner)
taylor lautner
ryan reynolds
matthew mcconaghey
george clooney
ben affleck

and a few that started off solid but really have gone down hill:
halle berry
scarlett johansson
kate hudson
salma hayek
penelope cruz
angelina jolie
Posted via Mobile Device

Here's a couple more
Katherine heigl
Hayden paneteirre
Chris evans

 

[saann]

I think it's important to highlight the difference between actors and movie stars. Some might be overrated as actors, Depp, Clooney, Pitt, Cruise but they are/have been phenomenal as movie stars. Like littlepaperstars said, some might play the same role all the time but they play it so well so that might not necessarily mean they're terrible actors, they're just not versatile ones.

And then we have good actors who are horrible movie stars, like Gyllenhall or Swank.

The only person who comes to mind that is juggling both roles successfully right now is Christian Bale, and the reason for that, I think, is his versatility and the fact that he doesn't shy away of a slightly different role/movie. I think Gosling can achieve that balance now that he's starting to accept more mainstream roles.

 

[TheCheekyCritic]

Johnny Depp has lost a lot since he started being Capt Sparrow. He´s kinda "cartoonish" these days and The Tourist was simply painful. He is too much "himself" in every latest movie, the stringy hair....he has become somehow predictable.

I agree, but I also think that has a lot (read: a lot) to do with a) that accursed Pirates of the Caribbean neverendrilogy, and b) his at least equally exasperating collaboration with Tim Burton - indeed, I believe there is another new Depp/Burton film in the works as we speak. The Tourist was admittedly unfortunate, not the least because he and Jolie were apparently cast in it only to have "Johnny Depp & Angelina Jolie" appear onscreen at the same time, but aside from that he has done some terrific work as an actor, even if his films have not always been as terrific, and imo ultimately deserves most of the acclaim he has received.

And don't get me wrong; even in the case of the Pirates movies, I think Depp's Jack Sparrow was nothing short of brilliant in the first one, pretty much owning it from start to finish. But it's like 7 seasons of Hugh Laurie's House - a great character and performance for sure, but that cow got old already in its second year. Must we keep milking it?

 

[littlepaperstars]

^^This isn't a criticism of what you said really, but just a general observation. Before Pirates JD could do no wrong, his movies made were never box office hits, he's said it himself, but he was generally considered to be one of the best, if not the best actor of his generation, even by his peers (they did a poll years ago, can't remember where or what for). He had commercial success with Pirates and suddenly, or at least it seemed, the floodgates opened and he very quickly became over-rated or a sell-out.
I get the feeling he's reached a point in his career when a) he wants to make things his kids can see and b) he can just afford to have a little fun.He's proved himself a superb actor time and time again since the early part of his career. He clearly loves Jack and thats why he keeps going back to him and to his credit he's never seemed like he's even phoned that in. They're clearly making money from Pirates otherwise they wouldn't keep making them. Personally I love his work with Burton, I recently had the good fortune to witness some of the filming for Dark Shadows and it looked incredible. I do think he's one of the best actors of his generation actually.
Now, go ahead and discount everything because I've had a crush on him since I was 8 years old watching 21 Jump Street. lol

 

[Cristina777]

Gwyneth Paltrow
Reese Witherspoon
Adam Sandler (the most annoying actor, even his voice annoys me)
Natalie Portman (entered in some good and popular movies, but she's not as great as people say)
Jennifer Lopez (any credit she gets is too much, she's beyond bad!!!)

 

[TheCheekyCritic]

He clearly loves Jack and thats why he keeps going back to him and to his credit he's never seemed like he's even phoned that in. They're clearly making money from Pirates otherwise they wouldn't keep making them.

Obviously; if House didn't bring in the proper ratings for FOX they would can it, too, but for me personally, both Hugh Laurie's House and Johnny Depp's Jack Sparrow, as characters carried primarily by one good shtick, are long past their due date. Unfortunately (for me ), they don't seem to know what it is to "quit while you're ahead" in Hollywood.

Personally I love his work with Burton, I recently had the good fortune to witness some of the filming for Dark Shadows and it looked incredible. I do think he's one of the best actors of his generation actually.

Well, to me, Tim Burton is one of the generally most overrated directors of our time, even though that hasn't stopped Depp from turning in good performances in his films. But even though Sleepy Hollow is one of my favorite movies, my Burton/Depp-quota was maxed out by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and I sincerely wish they would go their separate ways, so I didn't have to time and again establish to my disappointment that Burton has once again stuck Johnny in some batsh!t crazy role, however well he does crazy on film. Because he is one of the best actors of our generation, I wish Burton would allow him to be challenged with more unfamiliar roles, and I for one long for him to appear in more mature, subdued and genuinely unpredictable roles like in Secret Window.

 

[kokobombon]

^talking about overrated directors, what about Woody Allen? imo he´s the most overrated of them all LOL

 

[Jenna-maria]

^
I strongly agree with you about Woody.
He is overrated.
I have been saying this forever
but usually people are like:
HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT ABOUT WOODY?!?
HE IS GENIOUS!!!!!!!
hahah they are so wrong!

 

[sobriquet87]

^Woody seems like an actor that's been pigeon-holed. He plays the same roles a lot.
But I thought he was really good in The Messenger.

I just recently saw Horrible Bosses and I thought Jason Bateman was terrible in it.
Can he even act? He's great in Arrested Development, but in films, he always seems so flat.
It's like he's not even trying.

 

[chickadee]

Natalie Portman, for reasons already stated, as well as the fact that she puts her foot in her mouth so often but no one seems to mind or notice this. For instance, the "I know what it feels like to be black" comments. Because I shaved my head...

Kristen Stewart. People act as if Twilight is the stain on her resume, but she's never impressed me. I didn't like her in The Runaways, don't remember her in Speak, and she's the reason I turned off Into the Wild (well, that and I just couldn't get into that film).

Keira Knightly. I don't know if it's because she has a British accent or what, but I don't get the rave. On imdb, people went crazy when "A Dangerous Mind" trailer premiered; they were already calling out for her Oscar WIN. I'll reserve judgment for when I see the film, but it's already looking like she's gonna overact to the max and her accent is...debatable.

 

[littlepaperstars]

While I agree with Kristen Stewart, she just has no presence on screen as far as I'm concerned. It's like watching paint dry. I have to disagree with Keira, I will say though that I think she's a better stage actress than she is on screen (same applies to Sienna Miller) and actually until you've seen her on stage you don't really realise how good she can be. I saw The Childrens Hour, more times than I can count (for work not just in a creepy buying lots of tickets way) and not only did she bring it every time but she mixed it up and really lived it and actually, for whatever reason, I think that some times that gets lost when she's making films.

 

[Belowen]

I don't think Natalie Portman is really that great. She cries really well, but I feel like that is the extent of her range.

 

[sobriquet87]

I think Keira Knightley is a really good actress. She's also one of those that got pigeon-holed towards the beginning of her career. Almost every single film she's done is a period film.
But I think she's a brilliant young actress and I love watching her on-screen.
One of her best film performances, in my opinion, is The Duchess. One thing I would love to see from Keira though is a comedy for once. A lot of roles tend to be quite depressing.

Natalie Portman...it's debatable. She has legitimate talent, but she doesn't demonstrate it in all of her films.
I've seen her in roles and thought she was so bad (Goya's Ghosts, Thor) and she blew me away in others (Black Swan, V for Vendetta).

 

[modelista]

that's hilarious about woody allen & other directors!! someone should start a thread lol.. i think i could list a few others

 

[sobriquet87]

I just realized the comment in post #392 was about Woody Allen not Harrelson.
Now I feel like an idiot.